Police also found pornography on some of the women’s phones, which is illegal in Aceh. They said it would be used as evidence against them.

Sangaji told the newspaper Kompas, “Mothers came to me crying. They said their sons were given free treatment at the salon, seduced by waria. This is not good and must be punished. I hope we can curb this disease in this society.”

Human rights groups have denounced the raids.

“Cutting the hair of those arrested to ‘make them masculine’ and forcing them to dress like men are forms of public shaming and amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in contravention of Indonesia’s international obligations,” said Usman Hamid of Amnesty International Indonesia.

The Aceh province is majority-Muslim. In 2001, the national government gave the province latitude to enforce religious law.